Notification issued 11/14/2014 at 9:57 AM. The MTA has advised that from 9:45 PM, Friday, 11/14/14 until 5:00 AM Monday, 11/17/14, Queens-bound F Train service will not stop at Roosevelt Island. The Tram will run on a rush hour schedule from 7 AM until 10 PM to accommodate any increase in traffic. For alternate routes and updated information, please visit http://mta.info or call 511 for more information.

The Roosevelt Island Youth Program has initiated a Soccer program we call “the Seniors Initiative” which will benefit all the 13 to 15 years old players with compensation for showing respect to:

Teammates, Coaches, referees, and the Field;

for coming to all practices and games on time; and

for sportsmanship.

The idea is to teach our young adults leadership through sports in general, and particularly through the international sport of soccer. Respect is often taken for granted and I wanted to emphasize these values that are the basis of all relationships and success in the professional world.

The coaches in this division have volunteered numerous hours of their time training the teams during the weeknights and weekends. The coaches have no children in this division, they do it out of their passion for the game and to be an active part of the community. Through the Seniors Initiative, I am hoping to install sportsmanship and higher values in the minds of the players. Teach them that respect comes in different forms and goes a long way.

With ongoing education, and in collaboration with the coaches, we chose 34 players that have excelled in showcasing their respect in the last 5 weeks and played a full game (90 minutes) Friday night Nov. 7, on the full field. 22 players started the game in two teams along with 12 substitutes:

The game ended with a very close score of 6-5 with a win for Team 2. Noteworthy is Kerwin Barrera who volunteered to play for Team 2 when some players were not able to make it on time and he noticed that they need help. He played the first half of the game and helped the team score 4-0 at half time. With a few players showing up a bit late, Kerwin went back to his Team 1 and played his hardest; the team pulled from behind to score 6-5 at the end of this thrilling game. The weather was a bit cold, but the energy emanating from the players kept the heat in the game.

“This was an amazing game to watch” said one of the parents, despite the blistering wind.

Both teams exhibited superior skills and prime sportsmanship. Noteworthy are the following players (just to name a few):

Francine Elisaia who defended with steadfastness.

Taj Young energized his team.

Michael Williams performed superior goalie skills.

Andrew Herlihy’s attacks culminated in several superb goals and a few assists.

The Roosevelt Island Youth Program / Soccer League invites all parents, families, and residents to join us this Saturday Nov. 15th during our first playoffs. The teams promise exciting games in a fight for survival and advancements.

Minors playoffs games are as follows:

Semi Final 1 at 9:30 AM: Dan/Miguel’s team (currently in 1st place) vs Jorge/Eddie’s team (currently in 4th place)

Semi Final 2 at 9:30 AM: Alan/Lee’s team (currently in 2nd place) vs. Nicola/Marco’s team (currently in 3rd place)

Please join The New York Public Library for a Community Conversation about the new Roosevelt Island Library
Thursday, November 20, 2014 | 6-8 PM
Good Shepherd Community Center
543 Main Street, Roosevelt Island

The New York Public Library is planning for a new home for the Roosevelt Island Library. We would like to hear your thoughts and ideas on the programs and services for the new library.

NYPL is building a new, larger building to replace this branch. The 5,200-square-foot building, which will add much-needed public programming space, will more than double the current building. Opening expected in early 2017.

The following NYPL staff members will be speaking at the Town Hall Meeting on Thursday, November 20:

Nicole Nelson, Library Manager of the Roosevelt Island Library
Dawn Chance, Library Network Manager
Christopher Platt, Acting Vice President of Public Service
George Mihaltses, Vice President of Government and Community Affairs

... More than 2 years after the announcement that Roosevelt Island will be getting a new library and 1 year after the lease signing, what is the status of our new library?

The new Roosevelt Island NYPL library branch was discussed during July 30 Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Real Estate Advisory Committee meeting (video of meeting here and audio web cast of meeting here). During the meeting, Hudson Related Main Street Master Leaseholder David Kramer expressed frustration with the "pace" in moving the library project forward due to RIOC's delay replacing the windows at the 504 Main Street building.

RIOC Director Margie Smith asked Mr. Kramer if RIOC was responsible for delaying the project. Mr. Kramer replied yes, but that RIOC was about to begin work on the window project which was confirmed by RIOC President Charlene Indelicato who anticipates window replacement work to begin at end of August.

On September 15, 2014, RIOC President Charlene Indelicato reported about the window work for the future Public Library at 504 Main Street:

...At 504 Main Street, the fabrication and installation of new windows is underway. Now that the windows have been manufactured to specifications, installation has begun. Installation work is currently scheduled to be completed in November....

New Public Library ‐ Installation of new windows was completed by RIOC for the first floor of 504 Main. We expect that work will now begin to renovate the space for the new library. We don’t have an official date for the start of operations at the new site, but it’s unlikely that we’ll have a new library before 2016.

Now it's the Roosevelt Island community's turn to tell the NY Public Library your thoughts and ideas on programs and services for our new library. You can tell them at the November 20 Community Conversation.

Work has begun on Building D, the last building standing in Phase I. Façade demolition is complete and structural demolition by mechanical means is ongoing. Work on the building will be complete later this month, at which point the contractors will begin removing the foundations of buildings D, F, and H.

In the next two weeks, demolition work will begin on buildings G and J in Phase II. This will alleviate congestion on site and create two additional circulation corridors within the site. As part of easing logistics, the construction trailers will be relocated to the east side of the site.

Early infrastructure work along the west roadway is slated to start by the end of the month. The work will include installation of a new ductbank and relocation of a water line. We are currently working with contractors to develop logistics plans and finalize work plans.

An update on Roosevelt Island Cornell issues will be given tonight at the meeting of the Roosevelt Island Community Coalition (RICC). According to RICC:

... AOL and the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute announced they’re partnering to build a Connected Experience Lab co-located in New York City and Israel. AOL is contributing millions of dollars to the project.

Researchers in the laboratory will use data analysis to create systems for delivering personalized content as well as new tools for connecting people. Areas of study include human-computer interaction, computer vision, machine learning, natural language processing, and social computing. Part of that, put simply, will be innovation centered on developing advertising and video products — an area of keen interest for AOL...

Last week RIYP Beacon at PS/IS 217 celebrated the Lights On After School Programs with a Spelling Bee competition… with a bang.

Image Of Jaden Nunez At RIYP Spelling Bee From Adib Mansour

Groups 1 through 5practiced hard with their counselors for over 2 weeks prior and their diligence culminated in a Spelling Bee competition with the top 10 from each group competing in individual setting or a group setting.

The event was done at the PS/IS 217 school’s auditorium, with the stage set up like a professional competition. Each student from the specific group was asked to come up to the microphone

Image Of Isabel Shogen At RIYP Spelling Bee From Adib Mansour

and spell a specific word. We heard the usual “can you put it in a sentence” and the “can you pronounce it”, and we even got the “can you spell it” as a joke from Elyes Bouchik.

Image Of Elyes Bouchik at RIYP Spelling Bee From Adib Mansour

Group 3’s competition was very close with the top three clinching to their position. The excited audience all of a sudden became mute with anticipation. The word that everyone was stuck with its spelling was: COURAGEOUS. There were numerous attempts with all kinds of spellings.

The winner of that division was: Noemi Lozado with Elyes Bouchik as the runner up.

Group 1 consisted of several sub-groups competing against each others. The winning cluster consisted of the following participants: Sadie Fuchs, Hugo Yuan Xu, Dleanna Hoosain, Ean Britt, Adlai Jenkins, and Matthew Xu.

Join Bike New York and The Roosevelt Island Historical Society for a fun free tour of the island on Sunday, November 16 at 1:30pm! We’ll stop at six different landmarks where a member of the historical society will share some of the history that makes this island so unique. Bikes and helmets will be provided. For more information, please email me at cgoodspeed@bikenewyork.org.

was recently profiled as a Bike New Yorker and responded to some questions such as:

... Let’s talk a bit more about Roosevelt Island, where Bike New York has been quite busy as of late, with year ‘round indoor classes, as well as rides and events during the warmer months. What has the response been like from locals?...

... It’s just been awesome. People have taken advantage of the classes, and we continue to have more and more support. Which is especially gratifying now, while the community is grieving over the tragic death of Anna Maria Moström, a cyclist and Roosevelt Island resident who died after getting hit by bus a few weeks ago. Roosevelt Island is an idyllic community. I can’t remember a time—and I’ve been here since the ‘70s—when someone has lost their life in this way. But while the community is grieving and trying to manage its shock, it’s also been good to see how Bike New York immediately stepped up and said “look, there are ways that signage can be improved.” We’re also making sure people know that taking our classes helps ensures that they’re aware of safe cycling best practices. It’s been wonderful to see that happen. I think the community has been able to grab onto something positive out of this tragedy...

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, was declared between the Allied nations and Germany in the First World War, then known as "the Great War." Commemorated as Armistice Day beginning the following year, November 11th became a legal federal holiday in the United States in 1938. In the aftermath of World War II and the Korean War, Armistice Day became Veterans Day, a holiday dedicated to American veterans of all wars...

If you know a Veteran or see one on the street today, please take a brief moment to thank them for their service to our country. Also, don't just thank them today but do it throughout the year and thank our active duty soldiers as well.

Come receive a FREE mammogram. We are sponsoring a Scan Van event with Project Renewal to offer eligible women a mammogram at no cost. All women over 40 who have not had a mammogram in the past year are welcome to the event. All insurance plans are accepted.

You must make an appointment in advance. Call 1-800-564-6868 to reserve your appointment. Please email infobenkallos.com for any additional details.

According to Project Renewal:

ScanVan Mobile Mammography

Challenge

Last year, 4 out of every 10 uninsured women did not receive a mammogram.
Solution

ScanVan is the country's first mobile mammography and radiology clinic for homeless and uninsured adults. ScanVan provides clinical breast exams, mammograms, tuberculosis (TB) tests, and health education to homeless and low-income men and women. We visit homeless shelters, drop-in centers, and street-side locations in all five boroughs of New York City.

Subway Inn lovers, rejoice!
The beloved dive bar has found a new home two blocks east. The grungy but cozy tavern, forced out of its longtime home at 143 E. 60th St. by a new development, has signed a lease at 1140 Second Ave., a storefront now occupied by the Blue Room sports bar....

... The Salinas family have signed a lease at 1140 Second Avenue, according to the Post, taking over the Blue Room bar space right next to the Queensboro Bridge entrance and the Roosevelt Island Tram...

At the time of this publication, and with your vote this past Tuesday, November 4th, a new board of officers and councilmembers comprising of over 30 of our Island neighbors, residents, family and friends will have been seated to the Common Council. Answering the call to serve the Island and its residents, this new Common Council will be tasked with not only being your voice and your representatives to RIOC, the City and to the State, but with both finding solutions to issues that will have and continue to affect our community, as well as strengthening the community bonds that binds us together. A congratulations is in order not only for those who had put themselves
out there and ran in some highly contentious races, but also to those who had served previously on the past Common Council, those who stepped up to fill seats that would otherwise go unfilled, and to those who helped run and facilitate this term’s election process ensuring that RIRA and its Common Council would continue. It was a privilege to serve with the past Common Council members, and I welcome all who are both returning and new.

With the elections past, now is the time for the Common Council to roll up its sleeves and to get back to the work that it should have been doing for the last two years. The energy and resources that past Common Councilmembers spent on meaningless process, internal scrutiny, targeted conflicts and aggravating internal politics should be redirected to what the Island Community has asked RIRA to do: finding solutions to community issues, making Roosevelt Island a better place to work, play and live, and to be a unified voice for the community.

I will be calling on the Common Council to focus its energies on the following initial initiatives this term which I believe currently affect the community:

working with both Manhattan’s Community Board 8, the Department of Transportation, RIOC, and the City Planning Commission, to conduct a study and find transportation and transportation safety solutions for the Island and the Island roadways for the next five (5) years, including a visioning statement as to the use of alternative means of transportation, improvements to existing means of transportation and how transportation related injuries and deaths can be avoided;

preparation of what is believed to be the environmental, infrastructure, and socio-economic impacts that the development of the three remaining towers being built at Southtown will have on the Island, culminating in a number of RIRA led meetings between Island Residents, RIOC, RIRA and the project’s stakeholders seeking to address and find solutions to these impacts and a community agreement;

the completion of a study and the creation of a Roosevelt Island action plan regarding, the environmental and health impacts to Island residents due to the reinstatement and use of the East 92nd Street Marine Transfer Station;

preparation of an advisory statement on the current state of Motorgate, its services to the Island, and what the residents believe must be done for Motorgate to better serve both those who use the facility as well as those who pass through it;

the repair, mediation and repair of the existing Island infrastructure and early identification of infrastructure problems that pose high community risk; and

safety and patrol initiatives for the North of the Island.

The preceding is hopefully a fraction of work that the Common Council must and will accomplish this year; others on the Common Council will similarly have their own initiatives which they will wish the Common Council to undertake.

Do you have initiatives that you believe the Common Council and RIRA should focus its sights on? Do you believe you have talents and experience to bring to the table that will accomplish these goals and initiatives? Consider joining a committee during this term or even possibly filling a seat on the Council that remains unfilled. Reach out to myself, as RIRA President, at any time at jeffrey.escobar@gmail.com.

The age of infighting and internal strife and politics for RIRA and the Common Council is over. It’s time for all of us, Common Council members, community members, residents, stakeholders and partners alike, to come to the table and once again work for the betterment of the Island and its residents. I look forward to this new age and working with you all as your RIRA President.

UPDATE 7 PM - RIRA President Jeff Escobar presented his first President's Report to the new RIRA Common Council on November 5. Mr. Escobar discussed the responsibilities of RIRA members including serving on Committees and sought members to serve on the Roosevelt Island Community Coalition which monitors the activities of Cornell Tech on Roosevelt Island.

These parents shared their experience and knowledge about their decisions, the preparation involved and the admission process.

Please find HERE a handout with different time lines of the process and other resources for parents. Emily Gohn-Barnhill, the Director of the Bright Horizons/MSKCC Children's Center at 475 Main St, prepared these materials and kindly approved their distribution to the Roosevelt Island Parents' Network member families and Roosevelt Islander Online readers.

Many thanks to Kristi Towey, Tamara Troadec, Michal Melamed, Natalie Remor, Catherine Shiels, Sarit Schwartz, Maya Bar Dagan, Kelly Turner, Mary Anne Feeney and Matthew Matasar, who donated their time to share their knowledge and experience as our panelists! A special thank you to Jen Reyes for the graphic design of our flyer.

Something In Mind will be showcasing their new fall clothing plus the artwork of Olya Turcihin.

The selected works of art for “Mesmerism” came from Turcihin’s series, “Drive By Dreams”, where we are transported into another realm of being, the momentary nature of a flash in time. Inspired by the journey, the image captured establishes an ephemeral mood. In this recent series, there is the act of speed and the impression of landscapes passing by, the dreamy manifestations that create feelings of movement and the split seconds of time that are ever so fleeting, then are punctuated ever so distinctly in Olya's signature cinematic prose.

Olya Turcihin’s photographs convey explosions of color, texture and the intimate scale of focus that draws its viewer into her world. Her eye instinctively and viscerally explores an insight into a transformative artistic experience that is hidden from everyday view.

First Amendment Attorney Floyd Abrams on Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch, President Obama's use of Executive Orders, advice for President Obama on dealing with the Republican Congress and the recent Supreme Court announcement accepting another challenge to the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).

Recent Reader Comments

Recent Comments

Total Pageviews For Last 7 Days Via Blogger

WELCOME TO ROOSEVELT ISLAND

Welcome to the Roosevelt Islander Online!

Roosevelt Island is a mixed income, racially diverse waterfront community situated in the East River of New York City between Manhattan and Queens and is jurisdictionally part of Manhattan. The Roosevelt Island Tramway, which connects Roosevelt Island to the rest of Manhattan, has become the iconic symbol of Roosevelt Island to its residents.

The Purpose of this Blog is to provide accurate and timely information about Roosevelt Island as well as a forum for residents to express opinions and engage in a dialogue to improve our community.